|
Abstract:
|
The duration of life of most sexually reproducing species, including humans, has been shown to be calibrated to an attribute of the life history that has nothing at all to do with aging---reproduction. The characteristic J-shaped curve of mortality is also a common attribute of many forms of life, and this too is calibrated to the onset and length of the reproductive window. For more than 180 years scientists speculated that the common age pattern of death represented a "law of mortality", but for a variety of reasons no one was able to demonstrate its existence. In a test of this hypothesis, we have demonstrated that the law of mortality exists, and that there are evolutionary explanations for its presence. Experimental verification of the law of mortality will be presented using unique sources of mortality data on humans, dogs, and mice.
|
